Kaleidoscope Heart is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, which was released on September 7, 2010 through Epic Records. The lead single from the album, "King of Anything", was released digitally on May 10, 2010.
The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 90,000 copies in its first week. The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Background
Bareilles stated on her website the reason behind the album's title, "I picked out the name of the record months before I even finished writing the songs. I love the imagery of those words, and they’re really representative of how I envision my heart. It's a colorful but fragmented, ever-changing sum of all the bits and pieces that make it up. A kaleidoscope is the tool that helps make sense of the mess. Or at least makes it nice to look at."
She also stated she suffered from "writer's block" after her second album, Little Voice; however, upon writing the song "Uncharted", she drew inspiration from this song to write the rest of the record. The title of the album, "Kaleidoscope Heart" was chosen by Bareilles from the lyric in the bridge of "Uncharted".
Promotion
On May 12 (Canada) and May 14 (USA), during the fourth-season finale of Brothers & Sisters, a new song from Bareilles was played during a scene of the show. It was confirmed by www.abc.com that the song is called "Uncharted". On June 1, the track list and release date were released online.
Three promotional singles and the entire album were made available before the release of the album. On August 23, 2010, the track "Hold My Heart" was released exclusively for streaming on Whole Foods' website. On August 25, 2010 the track "Uncharted" was released exclusively for streaming on the Entertainment Weekly website. On August 27, 2010, the track "Gonna Get Over You" was released exclusively for streaming on Barnes & Noble's website. On August 31, 2010, the full album was made available for stream on www.iheartradio.com.
She performed "King of Anything" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on September 3, 2010, as well as on Regis & Kelly and The Today Show on September 7, 2010. On September 21, 2010, Bareilles performed on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.
Singles
"King of Anything" was the lead single of the album. It was released on radio in the United States on May 10, 2010, and went on sale in June 2010. It peaked at number 32 on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming her second top 40 hit on the chart (after "Love Song" became her first). In the Netherlands it fared even better, reaching number 21.
The second single from the album was "Uncharted", and was released to radio in the United States in January 2011. It peaked at number 13 on Billboard Adult Pop Songs chart and number 16 on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.
The third and final single was "Gonna Get Over You", with a music video directed by Jonah Hill. It was added to the Hot AC on September 19, 2011. The song debuted on Billboard Adult Pop Songs at number 39 eventually climbing to number 35. The music video was released on YouTube at September 22, 2011.